Grabhook



Pei 1.28, 1939. RC, MORGAN 2,148,911

GRABHOOK Filed June 26, 1937 Patented Feb. 28, 1939 GRABHOOK Recs 0.Morgan, Bethlehem, Pa., assignor to Bethlehem Steel Company, acorporation of Pennsylvania Application June 26, 1937, Serial No.150,591

1 Claim.

This invention relates to grab hooks, and in particular to certainimprovements therein whereby grab hooks may be manipulated, whendesired, in open position.

contact said object whereupon hook I4 is released from engagement withpin 13, Hook I4 is then moved out of operative engagement with pin l3,

by shifting link 8 in a suitable manner.

After Grab hooks of the type contemplated by my inhook l4 has been movedout of engagement with 5 vention comprise in general a pair ofoppositely pin l3, application of the aforesaid lifting means opposedjaws pivotally connected to each other; to link 8 will operate throughchains 6 and I and each jaw having an arm extending beyond the arms 4and 5 to close the jaws l and 2 and raise point of such pivotalconnection in such a manthe object to be lifted. ner that theapplication of lifting means to the When the object being handledreaches its des- 10 outer ends of said arms operates to closethetination, the lowering of the grab hook automatically releases the jaws.By lowering link 8 still further, hook I 4 is brought into operativeengagement with pin l3 and the grab hook may then be raised with thejaws in open position ready to be placed over the next object to belifted.

It will be seen that through the use of my invention it is possible forthe operator of the grab hook to manipulate the ton-gs in either open orjaws about the object to be raised and thereafter to raise said object.

Because of the manner in which grab books of this type are constructedthey tend, when empty, to assume a closed position and as a consequenceit is necessary when adjusting them over and about an object to beraised, to use independent means for opening the jaws.

Various devices have heretofore been employed closed position withoutthe necessity for manufor maintaining the jaws of grab hooks in openally bringing said hook l4 and said pin I3 in and position, but suchdevices to the best of my knowlout of operative relationship. edge mustbe operated, or brought in and out It Will further be understood thatthe particuof operative position, manually. By my invenlar feature of myinvention which produces this tion, a grab hook can be manipulated withtheir novel and useful result is the use of the flexible jaws in openposition, by means which can be chains 6 and l to connect the arms 4 and5 to the automatically engaged or disengaged by the op,- link 8, wherebysaid link 8 and dependent hook erator of the grab hook without manualadjust- 14 are not restricted to a vertical motion to and ment. from thepin l3, as is the case if rigid links are The inventive idea involved iscapable of receivsubstituted for the chains 6 and 1, but are also ing avariety of mechanical expressions, one of enabled to move horizontallywith relation to which is shown, for the purpose of illustration, insaid pin, as a result of which the necessity for the accompanyingdrawing, in which: manual adjustment of said hook and said pin is Fig. lis a front elevation of a grab hook built dispensed with. Obviously,other flexible conin accordance with my invention; nections may besubstituted for the chains 6 and Fig. 2 is asection thereof on line 2-2;and I.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation thereof showing the jaws of the grab hookbeing held in open position, through the use of my invention.

Referring to the drawing, I and 2 denote oppositely disposed jawspivotally connected at 3 and having, respectively, oppositely extendingarms 4 and 5. At the outer ends of arms 4 and 5 are Accordingly wherereference is made in the claims to a flexible connection between thearms of the jaws it shall be deemed not to include means of connectingsaid arms to the lifting means which limit the motion of the liftingmeans to a straight line to and from the jaws.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patfastened chains 6 and 1 the ends of which chainsare fastened to link 8 which in turn is operatively connected to anysuitable lifting means, such as a crane.

The links 9, II], II and 12 are pivotally connected to the jaws I and 2and to the pin 13. Hook i4 is dependently fastened to link 8.

'To operate the lifting tongs, hook I4 is engaged with pin 13. By theapplication of lifting means to link 8, the jaws are opened and raised.The tongs thus opened can be placed over the object to be lifted andlowered until the jaws ent is:

In a device of the class described, comprising a pair of pivoted jawseach having an arm extending therefrom, a flexible connection betweenthe arms of the jaws, means attached to the flexible connection whenactuated for closing the jaws, a pivoted link connection between thejaws,

jaws.

REES C. MORGAN.

